The lonely hearts club has no one to feed him. The gentrification of food, another undesirable effect of theme park life, is here to stay. Many residents of Barcelona complained that their central neighborhoods prevented them from accessing a table to dine unattended. It happens in almost any city’s historic neighborhoods, bustling expansions, and anywhere else that has a redeemable appeal. The terraces are de facto reserved for groups, preferably tourists, first of all the box. Although numerous market studies show that it is a very profitable population niche due to the expense of singles, the restaurant industry punishes consumers who do not go directly as a group, as a couple or without complexes. Individual boss mistreatment is nothing new, but where it was once deterred by sending him to the table next to the bathroom or perching on a backless stool on the counter, it’s now completely outlawed. That diner can order two dishes, dessert and wine, and generate a much higher bill than four visitors sharing three tapas and a bottle of water, but it’s better not to risk it. An acquaintance told me that years ago, at a restaurant in Palma, they refused to serve him paella for two, even though they insisted on paying for two servings and getting one. It was unbalanced, he did not rent.
